There is hereby levied upon the sale, use, gift, possession, or consumption of cigarettes within the State of Oklahoma a tax at the rate of four (4) mills per cigarette. Beginning November 3, 1992, the revenue resulting from the tax levied pursuant to this section shall be apportioned by the Oklahoma Tax Commission and transmitted to the State Treasurer, who shall deposit the same in the Oklahoma Building Bonds of 1992 Sinking Fund. No part of the cigarette tax receipts derived from the increase in the cigarette tax rate shall be used in determining the amount of cigarette tax collections to be paid into the State of Oklahoma Building Bonds of 1961 Sinking Fund pursuant to the provisions of Sections 57.31 through 57.43 of Title 62 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

The tax hereby levied shall be paid only once on any cigarettes sold, used, received, possessed, or consumed in this state. The tax shall be evidenced by stamps which shall be furnished by and purchased from the Tax Commission or by an impression of such tax by the use of a metering device when authorized by the Tax Commission as provided for in Section 301 et seq. of this title, and the stamps or impression shall be securely affixed to one end of each package in which cigarettes are contained or from which consumed.

The impact of the tax levied by the provisions of Section 301 et seq. of this title is hereby declared to be on the vendee, user, consumer, or possessor of cigarettes in this state, and, when the tax is paid by any other person, such payment shall be considered as an advance payment and shall thereafter be added to the price of the cigarettes and recovered from the ultimate consumer or user. In making a sale of cigarettes in this state, a wholesaler or jobber may separately state and show upon the invoice covering the sale the amount of tax paid on the cigarettes sold. The tax shall be evidenced by appropriate stamps attached to each package of cigarettes sold. Every retailer who makes sales of cigarettes within this state to persons for use or consumption shall separately show the amount of tax paid as evidenced by appropriate stamps on each package of cigarettes sold, and the tax shall be collected by the retailer from the user or consumer. The provisions of this section shall in no way affect the method of collection of tax on cigarettes as now provided for by existing law. As to cigarettes packed in quantities of less than ten, for distribution as samples, payment of the tax may be made to the Tax Commission in a lump sum without affixing stamps on such packages.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the tax levied pursuant to the provisions of Section 301 et seq. of this title shall be part of the gross proceeds or gross receipts from the sale of cigarettes, as those terms are defined in paragraph 7 of Section 1352 of this title.

Added by Laws 1965, c. 195, § 2, emerg. eff. June 10, 1965. Amended by Laws 1984, c. 3, § 1, emerg. eff. Feb. 21, 1984; Laws 1984, c. 153, § 6, emerg. eff. April 21, 1984; Laws 1992, c. 350, § 17; Laws 1999, c. 390, § 5, emerg. eff. June 8, 1999.